In Re Gatts

I concur.

I have nothing to add to Justice McDaniel’s scholarly analysis in which he utterly demolishes the efforts of Mr. Gatts to elevate this picayune situation into an issue of constitutional proportions. However, as the Presiding Justice of this court and the one charged with its administration, I begrudge the time wasted in this case.

The judicial fabric of this court is already stretched to the breaking point. The five justices of this court, with the invaluable help of our dedicated but anonymous staff attorneys, are grinding out about 70 opinions per month. By primitive fingers and toes arithmetic, this comes to about 13 opinions per month per justice. Each opinion involves not only the time devoted to study, review, research, and the writing of an opinion, but to independent review of that opinion by two other members of the court. N eedless to say, this involves a substantial amount of judicial time.

We must, by law, write an opinion in every case in which a direct appeal is taken from an appealable judgment or order. In addition, we process about 50 to 70 applications for extraordinary writs per month —habeas corpus, prohibition, mandamus and writs of review. Each…

McDANIEL, J.

Petitioner was convicted of drunk driving by the Colton Justice Court. He was subsequently placed on two years' probation. As a condition of probation, he was ordered to serve five weekends at the Glen Helen Rehabilitation Center (Glen Helen hereafter).

Glen Helen is governed by the "San Bernardino County Sheriff's Inmates Rules and Regulations Manual." The manual provides that inmates may not wear their hair longer than one and one-half inches from the scalp, and may not wear beards. Inmates who refuse to have an appropriate hair cut and shave are placed on disciplinary status in single cells. Those who shave but refuse to have their hair cut are placed in four-man cells.

On June 17, 1977, petitioner appeared at Glen Helen for his first weekend sporting a beard and long hair. He was informed of the hair regulation, but refused to comply. He was therefore placed in disciplinary confinement. He was told from time to time during the weekend that if he shaved off his beard, he would be placed in a four-man cell, but he still refused to comply. The same events occurred the second weekend petitioner appeared to serve time.

He then filed a writ of habeas corpus…

*1027 Opinion

Petitioner was convicted of drunk driving by the Colton Justice Court. He was subsequently placed on two years’ probation. As a condition of probation, he was ordered to serve five weekends at the Glen Helen Rehabilitation Center (Glen Helen hereafter).

Glen Helen is governed by the “San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Inmates Rules and Regulations Manual.” The manual provides that inmates may not wear their hair longer than one and one-half inches from the scalp, and may not wear beards. Inmates who refuse to have an appropriate hair cut and shave are placed on disciplinary status in single cells. Those who shave but refuse to have their hair cut are placed in four-man cells.

On June 17, 1977, petitioner appeared at Glen Helen for his first weekend sporting a beard and long hair. He was informed of the hair regulation, but refused to comply. He was therefore placed in disciplinary confinement. He was told from time to time during the weekend that if he shaved off his beard, he would be placed in a four-man cell, but he still refused to comply. The same events occurred the second weekend petitioner appeared to serve time.

He then filed a writ of habeas corpus in the…